The subject matter herein relates generally to connector assemblies, and more particularly, to connector assemblies that are configured to communicatively couple different communication components through at least one of electrical and optical connections.
Some communication systems, such as servers, routers, and data storage systems, utilize connector assemblies for transmitting signals and/or power through the system. Such systems typically include a backplane or a midplane circuit board, a motherboard, and a plurality of daughter cards. The connector assemblies include one or more connectors that attach to the circuit boards or motherboard for interconnecting the daughter cards to the circuit boards or motherboard when the daughter card is inserted into the system. Each daughter card includes a header or receptacle assembly having a mating face that is configured to connect to a mating face of the connector. The header/receptacle assembly is typically positioned on or near a leading edge of the daughter card. Prior to being mated, the mating faces of the header/receptacle assembly and the connector are aligned with each other and face each other along a mating axis. The daughter card is then moved in an insertion direction along the mating axis until the mating faces engage and mate with each other.
The conventional backplane and midplane connector assemblies provide for interconnecting the daughter cards to the backplane or midplane circuit board by moving the daughter card in an insertion direction, which is the same as the mating direction. In some cases, it may be desirable to mate the daughter card in a mating direction that is perpendicular to the insertion direction. By way of one specific example, the header/receptacle assembly may be on a surface of the daughter card and face a direction that is perpendicular to the insertion direction (e.g., perpendicular to the surface of the daughter card), and the connector may be on the backplane circuit board and also face a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction. In such a case, it may be difficult to properly align and mate the header/receptacle assembly and the connector. Other examples exist in communication systems where it may be difficult to properly align and mate two communication components that have complementary arrays of terminals.
Accordingly, there is a need for a connector that facilitates interconnection of communication components (e.g., circuit boards, other connectors) when the communication components are oriented in an orthogonal relationship. Furthermore, there is a general need for various connectors capable of establishing an electrical and/or optical connection between different components.